PADI getting sued over Insurance Program

[cerich]

hmmm...something interesting...

If you hop on over to Instructor Liability Insurance | DiveBuddy.com and read that excellent article after reading all the stuff from this thread, including the atual filings and evidence...certain things that seem unusual all of a sudden make sense.

For instance..why did PADI assume the other agency had a policy when you thought that you were buying you own policy? Because PADI had it's own policy and was only adding you when you bought as a additional insured and covering the first 300K in claims before it actually went to a insurance company (if the allegations of the lawsuit are proven to be true)

 

[PuMpUi]

hmmm...something interesting...

If you hop on over to Instructor Liability Insurance | DiveBuddy.com and read that excellent article after reading all the stuff from this thread, including the atual filings and evidence...certain things that seem unusual all of a sudden make sense.

For instance..why did PADI assume the other agency had a policy when you thought that you were buying you own policy? Because PADI had it's own policy and was only adding you when you bought as a additional insured and covering the first 300K in claims before it actually went to a insurance company (if the allegations of the lawsuit are proven to be true)

I had read this post some time ago and it was instrumental in my decision to switch from V&B to Witherspoon Insurance. I have not had much need to contact them, but they have always been available when I needed them and always spent whatever time it took for "me" to understand something. I think they have a better "occurence" policy instead of a "claims made" policy.

Just my opinion.

 

[theduckguru]

I am not an attorney or an insurance expert, but one interesting item the PADI Risk Purchasing Group, Inc. listed as a defendant. Risk Purchasing Groups [RPG] and Risk Retention Groups [RRG] are legal.

An RRG is basically an insurance company organized for the purpose of assuming and spreading the liability risk exposure of its group members. An RRG must be chartered and licensed as a liability insurance company in one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia.

An RPG is an organization that purchases liability insurance on a group basis from an outside insurance company or from an RRG for its members. A RPG is not an insurance company and its members do not underwrite their own coverage.

I think you can see where PADI might have a problem.

 

[rdbean]

I'd be interested to hear the responses on Monday from PADI or V&B in regards to Rick's presser.

PADI’s press release asks you to contact PADI or Vicencia & Buckley Insurance if you have questions. Accordingly, we suggest you call PADI and ask the following questions: 1. Is it true PADI has to pay the first $300,000 of any property claim before the insurance is effective?
2. Why were we never told this when we purchased the insurance?
3. Is it true that if PADI can’t pay the $300,000 we do not have insurance coverage from Lexington?
4. If our own deductible is $1,000 on our property policy, why is there a $300,000 deductible on the policy?
5. If a thousand stores buy property insurance, the total premium collected is three million dollars, and if the actual policy cost is about $500,000, where did the other $2.5 million in premium money go?
You might ask Vicencia & Buckley Insurance the following questions:
1. Are you my insurance broker?
2. Do you have a fiduciary duty to protect my interest as my insurance broker?
3. Do you represent PADI in determining whether they should pay property claims out of the $300,000 deductible they are required to?
4. Isn’t this a conflict of interest with your fiduciary responsibility to me?
5. Why was I never told about this arrangement?
6. Is it even legal for you to act this way?
The responses should be interesting.

 

[Thalassamania]

Not to cause people more concern over their insurance status, but I hear that there have been significant layoffs at PADI HQ.

 

[ItsBruce]

Having given the whole matter more thought, and recognizing I've had nearly zero experience with the regulatory end of insurance law, I'm still not so sure that what is described as PADI's program is unlawful. And, can anyone say with certainty that the appropriate subsidiaries are not licensed somewhere?

A further thought or two: Do any insurance carriers offer liability policies that would cover a dive shop? Do they have self-insured retentions? What are the premiums like? Can any shops actually afford such insurance?

 

[PuMpUi]

Having given the whole matter more thought, and recognizing I've had nearly zero experience with the regulatory end of insurance law, I'm still not so sure that what is described as PADI's program is unlawful. And, can anyone say with certainty that the appropriate subsidiaries are not licensed somewhere?

A further thought or two: Do any insurance carriers offer liability policies that would cover a dive shop? Do they have self-insured retentions? What are the premiums like? Can any shops actually afford such insurance?

Dontcha think that Mr. Lesser or one of his associates would have checked out the licensing requirements BEFORE initiating a class action lawsuit? Rick appears to NOT be the lead counsel on this matter, so it seems to me that other people (especially based on the documentation supplied for us to read) have agreed that "thangs aint too good in Mudville".

In these matters, no one gets paid unless there is a "victory" (after the appeals, etc), so what would be the point of a frivolous and pointless suit?

 

[ItsBruce]

Dontcha think that Mr. Lesser or one of his associates would have checked out the licensing requirements BEFORE initiating a class action lawsuit?

No. You'd be amazed how many times lawyers file lawsuits without having checked out things they really ought to have checked out. What happens is that people become angry or frustrated over something that has happened and to appease their egos, they put together their lawsuit and file it without having done their "homework."

Rick appears to NOT be the lead counsel on this matter, so it seems to me that other people (especially based on the documentation supplied for us to read) have agreed that "thangs aint too good in Mudville".

My educated guess is that Rick is not experienced in class action litigation and is relying on the other firm to handle the class action end of the litigation. And, just because several sets of lawyers think a case is good, does not make it good.

In these matters, no one gets paid unless there is a "victory" (after the appeals, etc), so what would be the point of a frivolous and pointless suit?

You can ask that question of any number of my opponents. And, as far as the ones where I've been tossed out of court, all I can say is: "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

I should also note that in the hands of a skillful lawyer, a bad case can still be made to bring in quite a bit of money. And, in the hands of a careless or lazy lawyer, a decent case can go terribly wrong.

 

[Wookie]

I find the timing of this action very interesting. I went to the presentation last year at DEMA, where a trashing of PADI occurred. This lawsuit was filed on October 15, but no word came out until PADI released a press statement on October 25.

I remember when I first became a PADI professional, you would pay your dues to PADI, get your insurance from V&B, and send your incident reports to some guy named Lesser at 1-800 DIVELAW. PADI must have really pissed him off for him to be going back after them like this. Turns out Rick Lesser is still my dive liability attorney, just through another organization. I'd rather have Rick on my side than anyone else, although I would imagine that Craig Jenni (Witherspoon) would also make a formidable opponent.

I expect we'll see quite a dustup in a conference room at DEMA again this year.

 

[theduckguru]

I find the timing of this action very interesting. I went to the presentation last year at DEMA, where a trashing of PADI occurred. This lawsuit was filed on October 15, but no word came out until PADI released a press statement on October 25.

I remember when I first became a PADI professional, you would pay your dues to PADI, get your insurance from V&B, and send your incident reports to some guy named Lesser at 1-800 DIVELAW. PADI must have really pissed him off for him to be going back after them like this. Turns out Rick Lesser is still my dive liability attorney, just through another organization. I'd rather have Rick on my side than anyone else, although I would imagine that Craig Jenni (Witherspoon) would also make a formidable opponent.

I expect we'll see quite a dustup in a conference room at DEMA again this year.

He is an attorney Frank - $$$$$$$$ - emotion is not a factor.